Asia Pulse: Q2 2025

Changing consumer habits and local market dynamics are driving uneven growth across Asia’s FMCG landscape. In Q2 of 2025, spend in the region’s FMCG sector grew 2.5% year-on-year, marking a slight deceleration compared to Q1. The food and beverages category led the growth, while home care outperformed personal care.

North Asia recorded steady progress with a 1.6% increase in value sales, driven mainly by food and beverages and home care. Southeast Asia experienced a slight deceleration compared to the previous quarter, growing 3.2% across most sectors. South and West Asia led the region with an impressive 8.3% growth, largely fuelled by India’s strong performance. 

This report explores key consumer trends across 11 Asian markets, offering insights into how shoppers are spending, how category preferences are evolving, and where new growth opportunities are emerging.

Market highlights:

• Mainland China

China‘s FMCG market continued its soft growth in the first half of 2025, across all sectors except for dairy. The lower-tier cities, especially town and county-level markets, remained key growth engines.

• South Korea

Korea’s FMCG market recorded growth of 3.8% in Q2, a slowdown from the double-digit expansion of a year ago. The limited increase appears largely attributable to inflation, which has elevated average basket values. At the same time, the economic downturn has prompted consumers to tighten spending, resulting in lower purchase frequency.

• Taiwan

Following the robust rebound in 2024, growth momentum is gradually easing. FMCG value expanded by 7.8% in Q2 of 2025, down from 8.8% in Q1. Food and non-food sectors show similar trends, indicating the market may be settling into a more stable trajectory after the post-Covid volatility. Full-year growth is likely to normalise between +0% and 5%.

• Indonesia

FMCG is growing at a slower pace compared to last year, and volume continues to contract, suggesting a real challenge to shopper spending. A polarisation trend is evident as shoppers cope with price increases: they are either buying more to save more, or shifting to more affordable products.  

• Malaysia

Malaysia’s monthly inflation rate eased to 1.2% in May 2025. In Q2, despite falling average prices and ongoing festive promotions, FMCG spending remained limited. This suggests a more fundamental shift in shopper behaviour, with value-consciousness starting to outweigh the draw of promotional offers. 

• Philippines

The FMCG landscape continues to follow a positive long-term trend, albeit with a softer short-term uptick in value sales. Volume-driven growth has softened, but overall value is still increasing due to factors such as rising prices or consumers opting for more premium options.

• Thailand

Shoppers bought a greater number of categories and spent more on in-home FMCG in the second half of 2024, resulting in a decline in the first half of 2025. Due to the lack of strong government subsidy, low FMCG growth is expected for the rest of the year. Household income and levels of debt are unlikely to change much.

• Vietnam

Vietnam’s urban FMCG market posted its strongest first-half growth in 15 years, showing resilience amid global trade uncertainties. Price increases – mainly in food, foodstuffs, and electricity – contributed to this trend. By contrast, rural areas saw a sharper value decline after Q1’s holiday-driven boost, as consumers reduced purchase volumes despite paying higher average prices. 

• India

Urban FMCG volume grew 4.6% in Q2, marking a slowdown from the 5.5% growth recorded in the previous year. Macro-economic factors may be prompting consumers to spend more cautiously, impacting overall consumption patterns. This shift in behaviour is particularly evident in discretionary categories, where consumers are opting for smaller pack sizes, such as milk drinks and coffee. 

• Saudi Arabia

Growth is not coming from bigger baskets or higher frequency, but from population expansion (+5.5%). This means demand is tied to how many households are buying, not to purchasing power.

• United Arab Emirates

Overall FMCG volume has risen, driven by population growth and seasonal demand, though volume-per-buyer remains flat across most sectors except home care. With 59% of categories now back in volume growth, the key opportunity lies in recruitment – making entry easy with accessible packs and sustaining retention during seasonal peaks.

Stay updated with the latest insights and trends in the Asia-Pacific FMCG landscape by accessing the Q2 2025 edition of Asia Pulse. Click the download button at the top of this page to explore key developments across 11 markets and uncover growth opportunities tailored to the diverse dynamics of the region.